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The application of a communication infrastructure for hybrid test systems is currently a topic in the aerospace industry, as also in other industries. One main reason is flexibility. Future laboratory tests means (LTMs) need to be easier to exchange and reuse than they are today. They may originate from different suppliers and parts of them may need to fulfill special requirements and thus be based on dedicated technologies. The desired exchangeability needs to be achieved although suppliers employ different technologies with regard to specific needs. To achieve interoperability, a standardized transport mechanism between test systems is required. Designing such a mechanism poses a challenge as there are several different types of data that have to be exchanged. Simulation data is a prominent example. It has to be handled differently than control data, for example. No one technique or technology fits perfectly for all types of data.

Hybrid test systems are gaining more and more significance in the aerospace industry. At the heart of these systems is a standardized communication infrastructure. There are many challenges when designing the communication infrastructure. For example, it requires very specific knowledge to boot a hybrid system, manage its configuration process, and start and stop the execution of applications, such as simulations, panels or recorders. Likewise, when testers use a heterogeneous test environment, they cannot commit themselves too much to every single test means and its special characteristics. Nevertheless, testers must always be able to monitor and control every test system. This means, they must be able to determine the current overall system status and the current status of its components and parts. Examples for this are hardware components, such as real-time processors and I/O boards, as well as software applications, such as real-time simulations models on the test system.

To make the development of complex aircraft systems manageable and economical, tests must be performed as early as possible in the development process. The test goals are already set in advance before the first hardware for the ECUs exists, to be able to make statements about the system functions or possible malfunctions. This paper describes the requirements on and solutions for test systems for ECUs that arise from these goals. It especially focuses on how a seamless workflow and consistent use of test systems and necessary software tools can be achieved, from the virtual test of ECUs, which exist only as models, up to the test of real hardware. This will be shown in connection with a scalable, fully software-configurable hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) technology. The paper also covers the seamless use of software tools that are required for HIL testing throughout the different test phases, enabling the reuse of work products throughout the test phases.